Dear Friend,
This time of year brings the end of summer vacations and a return to the routines of school. The rituals associated with Back to School season are familiar and reassuring: new clothes, school supplies, book bags and lunch boxes to go along with our new teachers and classrooms.
But what is routine to us is a rarity in other parts of the world—especially if you happen to be a girl. That is certainly the case in Afghanistan, where I recently visited and met some extraordinary young women who are overcoming great odds by simply going to school.
In many remote Afghan villages, schools are few and far between and the lucky few who attend them often must walk a great distance. During Taliban rule, it was forbidden to educate women, and more recently, many factors work against girls receiving an education: There are cultural factors, some families won’t permit their daughters to walk long distances, and many are too poor to afford school expenses.
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Posted
August 25th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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On August 26 we marked the 100th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s birth. Two weeks later is the anniversary of her passing and we mourn anew. In Mother Teresa, CRS enjoyed a kindred spirit and an inspirational partner. It would be impossible to measure the impact she had on our agency. But we all have distinct memories of Mother, her courage and compassion, her simple life, her hands joined in prayer, her powerful voice for the poor. If you have a special memory of Mother Teresa, we invite you to share it with us and our readers as a tribute to this remarkable woman and as an encouragement to all of us who still celebrate her life in our thoughts and actions.
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August 25th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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A Letter from Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York and the chair of the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services
Today we celebrate the 100th birthday of a remarkable person who served as an example of complete and selfless commitment to the poor and needy around the world. While she lived a modest and humble life, Blessed Mother Teresa’s words and actions changed the hearts and minds of countless people by dramatically living out the Lord’s command to “love one another as I have loved you.”
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August 25th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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On August 20, seven youth and faith formation ministers and two CRS staff members traveled to Bolivia and Peru through the Called to Witness program that provides short-term, firsthand experiences of the developing world as seen through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching. Carolyn Trumble, coordinator of middle school ministries, elementary education and sacramental preparation, St. Cecilia Church, filed this reflection.
Our van navigated a bumpy dirt road to reach the Luz y Esperanza (Light and Hope) Center. The founder, Sr. Doris Huertas, greeted us with the same love, joy and honor she gives to each one of her boys. Luz y Esperanza is a place for boys who are living and dying on the streets of La Paz, Bolivia. These young boys, ages approximately 8 to18, have been abandoned and are forced to endure the horrors of a life of poverty and violence. The boys turn to alcohol and sniffing glue in order to escape their reality.
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August 24th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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Excerpted from the Caritas.org blog:
Our country is facing the biggest natural disaster in its history. The super floods of the mighty River Indus have brought death and wide spread destruction – over 15 million people have been affected and lakhs of homes have been washed away by the raging waters. We stand in solidarity with those who have suffered in this national tragedy.
What is our Christian response in the face of such an enormous disaster? We are followers and disciples of Jesus Christ. He taught us that love is the most important commandment. “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). To live as a Christian means to stand up and actively promote love, mercy and compassion, especially for those who are hungry and in extreme need.
Read the full letter here.
Posted
August 24th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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Excerpted from Today’s Catholic:
While the world’s attention was riveted on the World Cup and South Africa, I had the great privilege of touring another part of the continent with Catholic Relief Services (CRS). We were a delegation of Hispanic Church leaders from all over the US who were visiting the West African countries of Ghana and Burkina Faso to promote global solidarity among Hispanic Catholics. CRS is about human dignity. It is the official US Catholic agency for humanitarian relief and development throughout the world. Working in over 100 countries it seeks to help people help themselves through programs of micro finance, health care, education, agriculture, water and food.
What impressed me the most were the stories of the people we met who had benefitted from the collaboration and support of CRS and other partners. Each was a very human story of people simply wanting what all of us want in life: a place to call home, food, work that allows us to raise a family in dignity, education for our children and security.
Read the rest of Father Garcia’s story here.
Posted
August 24th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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MBA students traveled with Professor and CRS board member Viva Bartkus as part of her “Business on the Front Lines” class. They looked at the role of business in countries experiencing post-war reconstruction. Working with CRS, students met with business leaders and local officials in Lebanon and Bosnia to get a measure of the challenges facing businesses there.
Watch this video to learn more.
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August 20th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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Nadia sits alongside siblings after they were rescued from rising floodwaters in Baseera, a village located in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Photo by Reuters/Adrees Latif, courtesy www.alertnet.org
“We didn’t know the flood was coming. It was nighttime and we were asleep in our rooms,” says 43-year-old Rukhtaj, a mother of six. “Some people came and woke us up. They warned us that the water is rising. So we grabbed our children as quickly as possible and ran.
“We left all of our things so we lost everything. Still, we were very lucky…maybe only 20 minutes passed from when we were woken up to when the water came.”
Rukhtaj and her family are one of millions of Pakistanis left homeless, hungry, and without clean water following massive flooding throughout their country. Women without husbands or extended family are particularly vulnerable.
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August 18th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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From Carla Aguilara, CRS staffer from San Antonio, on her recent trip to Ghana:
I carefully watch Atule Nyaba hands to study her weaving technique.
She shows me how to roll the elephant grass and moves it rapidly back and forth. It looks easy, but when I try it, I fail miserably and we both get a huge laugh!
Atule Nyaba is part of a Fair Trade co-operative group of basket weavers in Bolgatanga, Ghana.
The groups of women come from 17 different communities and are supported through Trade Aid International, a non-governmental organization in Ghana that works to generate employment and wealth for the rural poor. In Bolga, located in the Upper East region of Ghana, 90% of people live below the poverty line.
Read the rest of the story here on the CRS Fair Trade website.
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August 17th, 2010 in
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John Lindner |
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“Fair Trade is theoretically a pretty straightforward concept. We all need to trade in order to get our needs and wants met. HOW we trade can get complicated in a complex and diverse marketplace.”
“The Fair Trade Federation (the association for North American organizations who are fully committed to Fair Trade) has established nine principles upon which Fair Trade is based.”
Our friends at the CRS Fair Trade blog discuss the principles of fair trade here.
Posted
August 16th, 2010 in
by:
John Lindner |
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